Hyung-Taik Lee on Saturday became the first ever Korean
to win an ATP title when he shocked stunned second seed Juan Carlos Ferrero in
the final of the adidas International in Sydney.
He triumphed in the big pre-Australian Open warm-up tournament against all
odds, after a dramatic week which saw him beat Andy Roddick, get a walkover win
when Marat Safin suffered a shoulder injury, and ease past Wayne Ferreira in the
semi-finals.
Last year saw just one player, Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, enter a
tournament through qualifying and carry off the title.
And the signs were not good for Lee when he dropped the first set to Ferrero,
but he fought back to take the next two on tie-breaks and won 4-6 7-6 (8/6) 7-6
(7/4).
Spaniard Ferrero looked favourite to take the final set when he went a break
up, and he even had a match-point.
But Lee refused to be beaten and took the decider to a tie-break which he won
on his second match-point.
Ferrero had been looking to prove himself a true contender for the first grand
slam of the year, and by beating Paradorn Srichaphan in the quarter-finals he
showed himself to be in good early-season form.
But he was upset with his display after Saturday's match, frustrated that he has
lost in successive finals following a loss to Lleyton Hewitt at the Masters Cup
in November.
"I finished last season disappointingly and now I start very disappointingly.
I had a lot of chances to win both those finals," he said.
"Sometimes tennis can be tough and right now it is. I gave it my all today
and I think we played a great match.
"He won the match - I didn't lose it.
"All I needed was one more point.
"But I still feel good going into the Australian Open. I don't feel tired and
I won't dwell on this loss."
Delighted Lee said: "It gives me a lot of pride to win in Sydney.
"I've learned a lot of things from some good players this week.
"Some of my weaknesses were exposed and I know what I need to work on. I want
to improve my ranking, play bigger tournaments and then set higher goals.
"Something special is happening with Asian tennis.
"Paradorn has been doing so well and his success has had an impact on me.
We're the only two players from Asia playing full-time on the tour.
"It would be nice to get a group of players on the tour, like you have with
the Spaniards and Russians."
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